On the Rocks: The Decline of Panther Caruso
by Fraye
Summary: Panther had deemed his life perfect when he had gained the companionship of a beautiful, sweet, vixen, Krystal. What happens when that same vixen decides that this isn't the life for her and leaves Panther behind, only for his past to catch him, Dante.
1. Prologue

I'm feeling a bit bored, so here's the prologue of a new story I'm gonna have, it's not ongoing so once I get this off my mind I should be at full power on Forever. This won't be an ongoing story, just so many chapters until I come to a conclusion. Don't kill me Mirai… Otherwise, enjoy!

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Krystal stood before Panther. The two of them stared lovingly into each other's eyes, but something else was hinting at the eyes of the blue vixen.

Her lips opened and closed as if meaning to say something, a resemblance of a goldfish seen there. Then finally a word escaped, his name, "Panther."

"Panther, I've been thinking… this can't work, this won't work. I still love Fox. I need… I need to leave… You're strong, you're tough, you'll make it… I'm not sure if Fox can make it, he needs me… and I need him. It's over. Goodbye Panther."

She withdrew something from her pocket, a rose, the rose he had given her. She'd never given it back before… what does this mean?

The petals had wilted, the red rose darkened in tint, no longer its lush red color. As it passed between her hands to his, the petals all fell to the metallic floor.

She turned around, holding onto his paw firmly for one more moment, before her grasp left his, leaving his hand feeling cold. The loss of her touch always hurt, always hurt so much.

A tear, a tear formed in the corner of his eye as her form escaped his line of sight. She didn't look back; Krystal had left and hadn't looked back.

The tear fell from his eye to the floor, the metallic hall echoing the sound of the connection of water and metal.

"Krystal…" he muttered.

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I hope you people review this story. I don't want another review death story. .


	2. Scuffle with Wolf

OMG THAT SUCKED!!! I had 3 pages of data for this chapter written out and when I was rebooting CPU constantly to fix internet, my word file got corrupted and deleted itself. Well, anyways, here's take 2 on Chapter 1 of On the Rocks. I expect you people that reviewed prologue to review more than just that once. That includes you Mirai. .

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Panther prodded at last bits of food on his plate, his choked breathing the only thing sounding out in the silence.

His throat was hoarse from earlier, his eyes puffy and red. He wasn't tough, no matter how much Krystal thought it.

The ears of the feline pricked at the sound of footsteps coming from a bit away. His first thought was Krystal; second thought was a Wolf or Leon.

Little to the surprise of the lovesick feline, it was the lupine leader of Star Wolf. The grey fur was messy as the wolf's eyes carried the same nonchalant look Panther had grown accustomed too.

As the leader strode into the small dining area, he didn't even make eye contact with his pained comrade. Within moments he was seated to the left of Panther.

As if reading the panther's thoughts, the canine spoke out, "Krystal left again?"

"How'd you know?" Panther hissed back, a threat laced into the words, daring Wolf to speak on.

"You were crying…" surprisingly, the words didn't hurt as much as he expected, as if his leader had held back some of the kick to keep stress off of the pained copilot.

All good things had to come to an end, "That and she always leaves after about this long."

As much as it pained the feline to agree, he did, but it couldn't hold back the broken dam of rage Panther felt. Those words only confirmed the horrible insecurities he had involving Krystal and Star Wolf. Those words were enough to make him give up his life among the stars.

Without a second thought, the newest member of Star Wolf's fist lunged at his leader. Connecting the muzzle with a loud crack, the fist of Panther and face of Wolf separated as the lupine leader was sent sprawling backwards.

The feline was on his feet now, his breaths ragged as he hyperventilated slightly.

The leader was on his hands and knees as he got up. He lifted his body off the ground, brushing his arm along his black nose, made tender by the blow, a long streak of red becoming visible on his arm.

The feline's eyes burnt with intense rage, his leader's eye still displayed nothing.

Panther's eyes didn't detect the movement of Wolf's leg as it connected with his left side, ribs snapping from the contact

The form of the black furred feline flew into the chair, the chair sent to the as the rage fueled pilot was on his knees beside the chair.

His leader wasted no time as he rushed at his lackey, his elbow smashing into the surprised face of Panther, sending him into the door.

The metallic tang of blood filled the maw of Panther Caruso, his gums sliced by incisors and molars alike.

Before the lupine had a chance, Panther was on his feet. He spit a mouthful of blood out onto the floor beside him.

The wolf lunged at him again, Panther was ready. The arm of the cat intercepted the blow, his reflexes allowing him to grab and twist the arm of his leader.

Panther lifted his foot and smashed it into the chest of Wolf, dislocating the right arm of his leader.

Without even a sense of compassion or feeling of remorse, he threw his leader into the table.

Wolf's natural reflexes forced him to land on his right side as he fell to the floor at the opposite end of the table.

A grunt of pain was heard from the lupine, a sign of weakness made visible in his invincible leader.

The catlike reflexes of Panther had put him over Wolf, pulling the arms up with the wolf's stomach facing the floor. The feline's foot was placed on the back and pressing down hard, a technique of torture taught to him by his fateful leader. Ironic, no?

A hiss of air being vented from the lupine's lungs was heard as he made attempts to ignore the pain.

"Krystal and me, we love each other, Fox is an obstacle we will overcome. If you believe anything but that Wolf, I will kill you in cold blood. You may be my leader in missions, but you don't lead my life, I do."

Panther dislocated the left arm of Wolf for effect as he slew the lupine into the corner of the room.

Panther gathered the remains of the rose he once cherished as the keepsake of his and Krystal's love and threw it at the wolf.

"If Krystal comes back, give her that. I won't be here when and if she does. I'm resigning from the ranks of Star Wolf." Panther made his way to the door.

As he reached the door Wolf spoke up, "You won't get far Panther. Once someone finds me, or I can use my arms again, the whole base will be on red alert. You'll be killed on sight."

The black pupils in the yellow eyes of Panther shot sideways to make a glance at Wolf. He spoke up, the rage not yet quelled inside him, "If I'm still here when that happens, don't expect to have anyone of a lower rank to you."

The paw of the Panther placed itself on the doorframe as it propelled him out of the door. He strode to the docking regions of Sargasso.

"I'm done with this life…" the strained Panther said, blood having filled his mouth and distorting and slurring the words.

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Okay, hope you all enjoy this. This is me writing to my full potential which will take slightly longer than my normal pieces. I don't write like this often because it does take a while to do pieces successfully like this. In my thoughts, Wolf is a lot stronger than Panther, but Panther is faster. With the rage from loss of Panther's love, the power he held became stronger than that of Wolf's giving him the upper hand.

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Took your idea's to mind and fixed them Matt. Thanks for the criticism. :D


	3. Foul Play

Loving this story. Hopefully it will clear my mental block I've been having with Forever. Only person who's not in love with it is Mirai due to a strong dislike of Panther. Until this mental block clears I'm only going to be writing this. Once it does, I'll be writing chapters for both Forever and this story, at least 1 update for both of them a week. If you read the previous the 31st, it's very likely that I added in some details and fixed a sentence due to the advice of Matthew DR. If you'd like to, hunt down these details and see if you like it more.

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As the lights of the wolfen consumed Panther's attention, they were the only thing worth his attention in the small craft, this was taking into consideration he was surrounded by an endless black void with the occasional spark of light made by a star.

Her words were haunting him. Not just the bitter ones she used against him, but every last word she's ever spoken to him.

As his memories flashed to every good moment he ever had with the blue vixen. A small tear paved the way to the flood.

The first tear slid its way along the black fur on his face, slicking down the fur, until it reached his muzzle. It fell from his muzzle, the split second afterwards a few more tears followed.

"Damn it," he hissed through his muzzle as his head dipped down, his eyes now looking at his feet.

His memories went straight to the moment where Krystal caressed his face with her hand before kissing him on the small stripe visible below his right eye. He felt his face burn up just as it did the time it happened, this time rather than a blush, it was rage.

His fist slammed down onto the control panel on the wolfen. "God damn it!" he shouted, tears still falling.

A bomb jettisoned into the air before him, illuminating the sky. There went his only bomb.

"Shit!"

He brought his left hand up and massaged his forehead in an attempt to ignore the stress. Sadly it failed.

Soon after, his left hand came to grasp a metal panel. He knew what was behind it very well. Should he? No…

His body didn't obey him as his claws grasped at the panel, pain ripping through his fingers as the claws tugged at the panel, then it released. A loud clang of metal on metal echoed through the ship as it revealed a small black leather photo book.

Hidden in that book was every picture of Krystal he had to his name. Against his will, the same hand flipped open the book as it rested on his lap.

The pages seemed to have a mind of their own as they flipped to the one picture that mattered most to him.

The picture was that of Krystal and him, their first kiss forever encased into a picture in time. Tears started to fall to the pages, staining the paper with water marks. Not a single tear hit the picture though.

Then he felt hate course through his veins as he remembered every hateful thing she ever said to him.

This time he was in control, he turned his ship on autopilot as he grasped the picture. Then in one swift motion, it was ripped into two.

He gave one last glance at the photo before he allowed the photo book and the ripped picture to fall to the floor.

His eyes fell to his radar, no enemies visible, but there was a small blue dot visible. As he glanced up through the canopy he saw what the dot was.

The planet of bandits, the planet of thugs… Zoness. That was the last place he wanted to be, but he seemed to have no choice.

He slowly pressed forwards on the thrusts and watched as the dot became larger and larger.

As his engine reached its limits, the boost was cut off as it cooled down. Not like he needed them anymore, he was close to the surface of the planet.

He had gotten lucky; he was flying in the direction of one of its many islands. He switched his G-Diffuser on as his radar changed to accommodate him entering the orbit of Zoness.

As his ship stabilized from the change, he looked at his radar. He noticed a small D on his screen representing a Docking Bay.

He made a beeline for said Docking Bay. As his wolfen made its landing he looked for the nearest bar, hoping to dull his pain.

There was one right beside the Docking Bay. Convenient.

He withdrew from his wolfen, making a silent landing. He instantly placed his hands in his pockets, them feeling the credits he carried on himself, and lowered his head as to not draw attention.

As he made his way to the bar, his eyes were looking up, as to not walk into anybody.

As he turned the corner to walk in, someone walked out the door, their laugh a bellow. The two connected, the unexpected contact sending the feline to the ground.

First thing that came to him was a strong scent of dirty water. This scent hid the scents of fresh blood, rusted metal, and stale liquor.

He got visual of a brown otter, and a drunk one at that. He narrowed his eyes as a warning towards the otter, no words needed.

"Shtop lookkkking at me likesh that." The drunken otter hiccupped loudly, the movement throwing him off balance as he stumbled to stay up.

He made a swift connection the door of the bar, falling to the ground in response.

"Now whyyyy'd ya go, and dosh that," the otter's words slurred as he failed at getting up.

A small smile was hinted at the corner of the former Star Wolf member's lips. The one threat he had was so drunk he couldn't even stand up.

He stood up and brushed himself off, cutting a chuckle off with his teeth. As he pushed the bar door open, he made perfectly sure to kick some dirt into the face of the otter through dragging his foot back hard.

The chatter of the alcoholics immersed him. This was not Panther's day.

He instantly spotted the figure of Leon in the corner, this could get ugly. Even if the chameleon didn't know what Panther had done, there was still the ongoing hatred between them, and the feline had no doubts the lizard would be out for his blood in general.

He made his way to the counter and sat. The bartender came to him immediately, the scarred raccoon cleaning a glass with a cloth, grime visible on it despite this fact, "What's your poison?" he questioned.

"I'd like a flat out beer, but my chameleon buddy in the corner back there," Panther pointed his thumb in the general direction of Leon, his head still tilted down as to hide his identity, "get him the strongest drink you have, and keep 'em coming."

Panther pushed forwards two thousand credits. The barkeep smiled, "With that kind of money able to be just thrown around, you could put me out of business. Whatever you say kitty-cat."

Panther growled at the barkeep, a smile emanating from the face of the raccoon. Instantly a glass bottle was placed in front of Panther.

The cap was removed as he took a long drink of the alcohol, the bitter taste making his throat raspy, grinning as his mind became buzzed just slightly, his memories at the back of his head. He set the bottle down.

He could feel the frayed leather of the black bar seat. He felt several slits in it, most likely formed by a knife that some drunk stabbed into the seat.

He made a quick glance at Leon to see a large glass bottle of rum arriving in front of him. As the barkeep went to point at him, he dived under the counter, hitting his head relatively hard. The alcohol seemed to dull the pain anyways.

He saw a look of confusion from the bartender and Leon didn't seem to mind. Perfect…

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Zoness was the choice planet of voters on poll. It was opened the moment I posted last week's chapter. He has to run into Leon at one point, may as well be now. Panther isn't above foul play at this point, considering he's on Zoness and isn't at the suicidal thoughts point. Well anyways, hop you all enjoy.


	4. Righting Wrongs

You'll just have to read on, don't'cha? First things first, MIRAI YOU NEED THERAPY. Second, here's the next chapter of On the Rocks. I really do love this story. Already mapped out ending, just need to get there :). Also the tension I noticed hinted between Panther and Leon was due to Panther acting so kindly towards Krystal despite them being enemies in the skies. I've yet to play Command, but I noticed that little bit in Assault.

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Panther had moved over a few barstools, the beer he had gotten before was only halfway empty. The brown bottle only hinted at its content by the thin, nearly black line separating liquid and air.

The feline stole a glance at Leon, whom had 6 or so empty bottles of rum sitting next to him, his mouth on another. The tiniest hints of a smile appeared at the corner of his lip. Perfect…

The feline lifted the beer bottle from in front of him and had one sip. Panther brought himself to his feet, making strides through the crowd to Leon

The light buzz Panther felt was nothing compared to the sea Leon felt as he swam for his thoughts.

The normally honorable feline continued his way to the deceiving lizard. And then as he reached the small corner booth the chameleon sat at alone, he tapped his shoulder.

As the confused lizard turned around, the smile became full on the face of Panther. "Leon, this is for ever betting Krystal would leave me," and with that said, the fist of Panther Caruso connected with the face of Leon Powalski.

At that moment, Leon managed to put most of the drunken feeling aside, his tail lashed out and sent Panther flying backwards landing on an empty table.

As Panther struggled to get on his feet, Leon was already up and his tail was about to slam onto Panther. Panther heard the sound in the air and instinctively rolled over and off the table.

The sound of wood snapping echoed through the room, the table snapped in half. The cheers of spectators could be heard from amongst the room.

Panther managed to get himself to his feet before Leon could get at him again, but Leon had a knife with him now.

As the chameleon charged at the panther, the latter ducked and used the momentum of the former to send the former flying backwards into the wall.

The sound of metal on stone echoed as Leon dropped the knife. Panther planted his foot on it and sent it flying backwards, where Leon couldn't get it.

Off of memory, Panther knew Leon had at least 6 knives on him. This number was simply based off of what he had seen. If this was correct, Leon had 5 left.

Even the slightest bit of honor still ran through the feline's veins, so he allowed the lizard to regain his composure before striking again.

Panther's leg swung out and slammed into Leon's side and sent him barreling into the booth of that table.

The poorly stitched booth gave in and the lizard dropped into the cushioning and support. Panther noticed one of Leon's knives had landed on the top of the booth.

Before he could get it, Leon had wrapped his tail around it, and flung it at the unsuspecting cat.

It struck his shoulder, going at least an inch deep from momentum. A searing pain scorched Panther's system, yet he couldn't have loved it more.

He wrenched the knife straight out of his shoulder, it painted red with his own blood… his life essence. He took a long deep breath and inhaled the smell of flesh.

A sadistic animalistic craze overthrew Panther's senses and thoughts. He lunged at the now standing Leon, grinning.

One clean stroke was all it took; one clean stroke was all Panther gave. The serrated blade was planted in Leon's windpipe.

Panther wrenched it out as the always present crazed look in Leon's eye faded to fear, he first fell to his knees, and then… then his torso went down too.

A small puddle of blood began to form around his body; the cheers that had been present were hushed. The smell of fresh meat still burned Panther's nostrils.

He took his raspy tongue along the flat of the blade, tasting the blood of his adversary, the sweetest most wonderful taste in the world to Panther.

Panther may be winning his battles, but he's still losing the war. This is due to the fact there was no Krystal to kiss him as congratulations.

His thoughts finally returned, as the crazed blood frenzy passed, he finally came to realization on what he had just done.

He cracked a smile as he realized the chameleon was gone… gone forever. His taunts could no longer haunt the dreams; his churlish comments could no longer put him down. Even though Krystal was gone, he had never felt better.

He scanned the surrounding area for his beer, only to see it smashed on the floor nearby. He went up to the counter, the barkeep cracked a smile himself, having been entertained by the fight, and handed a case of beer to Panther in congratulations.

As Panther turned to leave, the barkeep grabbed his arm and brought him close. The raccoon whispered in his ear, "I can make you the best fighter there is. Zoness is having a worldwide fighting competition. Each industry gets 1 representative. You in?"

Panther's low monotone voice made it so he need not whisper, so he simply spoke back, "What do I get if I win?"

"Million credits, this only happens once in a millennia. Be warned, there's some tough competitors out there. You know what; this is a lot to put on you at once. How about I give you a number to call if you make up your mind, just remember, I'm waiting."

A small business card was passed between the two mammals. The raccoon gave a sly smile at Panther, and he nodded back at the raccoon.

As he exited the bar, he took a small glance at the business card he had just received. Dante… that's a new one.

He pocketed the card, not even paying mind to the searing pain in his left shoulder. He had a first aid kit in the wolfen, he'd live.

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Tad bit short and it took forever, but it's done! I didn't have like any time to write this during weekend, which is when I usually write since I have school and soccer practice afterwards. Come time I finish with soccer I'm too tired to focus on writing so I have to put it off. Well anyways, this fight was a tad bit difficult to write, a lot less ways I can describe Leon than Wolf. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. (BTW, my only knowledge on the credits system is from the intro in Command. So if the numbers seem odd, that's why.)


	5. Scarred

I love this story; I just hate how little free time I have to write it. I get maybe an hour after soccer before I'm either too tired or my head hurts too much. Then I have the weekends, which is when my chapters are usually getting done since I have a good deal of free time then. Well, let me not bore you, here's the next chapter of On the Rocks…

Hmmmm…. Seems I got a retarded flamer again. Here's something to clear it up "Lupe", this isn't a fic with Krystal on Star Wolf, this isn't a fic that's Krystal x Panther. This fic is simply based off one of the endings in Command, the game you mention in your flame review that has nothing to do with my story. I support Fox x Krystal, I support Krystal being on Star Fox, and if you took time to read more than the first sentence you'd know what was happening. Get the hell away from my fanfic; I don't take kindly to flamers. Farewell and go !*# yourself.

P.S. I found via Google that you suggested this on 4-chan, and no one liked the idea, so S T F U.

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The feline known as Panther Caruso was hovering in his wolfen about 100 yards from the surface of Zoness, twirling the card he had received but 15 minutes about in his hand.

Mental conflicts, not even slightly helped by the stabbing throbs in his shoulder, waged war in his mind… his choices were as so, decline the offer and live miserably, or take risks and either dies a warrior or live in happiness.

In those very words though, Panther came up with a choice quickly. What were a few risks to him? He needed the money.

His claws sliced the air as he slowly dragged his hand to the comm. link button on his ship… then his claw fell, the numbers that could be entered floated on the screen, 1-9 and 0.

He took a glance at the card for the first time, and then let his paw rest. Was he 100% sure, would he be willing to die without knowing the 'what if' with Krystal?

Betrayal, like times before, betrayal, his body moved on its own accord, claws gliding over the numbers putting in, and opening, the comm. link.

The silent first buzz, the emotion washing over him represented him being anxious, buzz two, nervousness, buzz 3, fear… and on buzz 4 it was replaced by an ominous silence.

The silence stayed as was for a minute before the pent up breath of Panther vented out, his hoarse breathing loud enough to be heard by the person on the other end.

"Hello?" came the voice of the raccoon he had gotten the card from. Panther dared not move a muscle fear still coming at him in waves, holding his voice down.

"Hello?" came the voice once more. Panther took a gulp of air and vented one single word, "Hey…"

"Who is this?"

"The panther you gave a business card to."

"Ahhhh, so have you made a decision?"

"Yes… yes I have…"

"Then what is that decision, I mean, I wouldn't want to just guess and give you too much 'information'," Panther swore he could hear the raccoon making the sarcastic motions from where he sat.

"I… I… I decided…. I decided to represent you."

The canopy of his ship was replaced with the image of the raccoon, just now allowing video chat.

Then he planted a paper to the camera, an address visible to him. The exact things the card said were, 'GO TO THIS ADDRESS: 169 SHADE BOULEVARD.'

The feline stored it into his memory, only wondering why the raccoon wrote in all capital letters…

Then the whole paper turned black, turning the letters invisible. It fell to the ground, disappearing into a wisp of smoke as the raccoon's smiling face reappeared.

"Nice," breathed the feline.

"Well see ya," responded the raccoon.

"Soon," replied Panther with a light chortle, as the comm. link blanked out, the canopy becoming translucent once more.

He keyed in the address just given to him. The globe representing Zoness appeared on his canopy. It spun quickly before it stopped, a yellow dot blinking and visible. Then a line traced it self to the little red wolfen a little bit away from the dot.

Once the line connected to the wolfen in the diagram, the image disappeared, Auto Pilot appearing on the screen. The boosters started on their own accord and shot to the location.

He glanced down to locate the pack of beer he had won, and grabbed one. He wanted his buzz back so badly. Fear can't be allowed.

He lifted one of the dark brown bottles of liquor, popping the cap off effortlessly and instantly taking a long sip of the bitter liquid.

The buzz he had before had returned, once again putting his emotions to the back of his mind.

He gently drummed his fingers on his pant leg; he had a good 10 minutes before he'd land.

The preposition was timed perfectly. He was given an opportunity to get money, to have something to fall on now that he left Star Wolf. He didn't have far to fall though…

With a million credits he could do so much more than he could imagine. The buzz wasn't perfect, and it let in one image… Krystal.

An explosion of rage at the thought of her, an explosion of rage at the image of a former lover, did he hate her?

"DAMN IT!" he screamed, his rage sending the bottle of beer into the canopy, the bottle losing and shattering. Liquor and shards of glass erupted in the ship.

Grazes and cuts adorned him. His blood flowed freely as the glass clattered to as far down as it could get.

Just then, his ship decided to land on the roof of the address. The canopy shot open, the wolfen ejected him into the air. Panther landed awkwardly on his feet.

He was forever scarred by the memory of her; he was forever scarred physically and mentally. "It's her fault… It's her god damn fault!"

He flung himself off of the single story building, preparing himself for the landing with his tail and forepaw.

He landed, a surprised gasp escaping him as pain erupted from his shoulder. He lost his balance and fell to a knee.

As luck would have it, a cab pulled up and released the raccoon, "A sight for sore eyes Panther Caruso."

"You know my name now?"

"I've known your name all along."

Panther caught himself before saying anything more. He just let out an involuntary shudder as a surge of pain coursed his system.

"Want to go in Panther?" Panther glanced up to see the raccoon grasping something in his paw. Releasing it, slightly, a key ring was revealed and a key adorned it, falling and sliding up and down the metal wire.

"Anywhere except here Dante," he replied dragging himself to his feet.

"Come on, I'll treat the wounds. Wouldn't want my fighter covered in infected scabs on first day, next week."

'At least there's someone here that appears nice. I won't fend for my own this entire time,' thought the now smiling feline.

As they made their way indoors, Panther felt the first hint of… of happiness… true happiness… he had found a friend of sorts… someone to count on. It's been so long since he had a true one. Please let this one be so.

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Hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'm a tad bit of a perfectionist and this is actually the third try on the chapter because I kept overdoing it. If this seems a little below par, I apologize, the combination of the flamer, lack of a good night's sleep, and doing this chapter multiple times kinda screwed me over. Well, anyways, thanks for reading. Criticism please, no flaming. .


	6. Blind

Seems everyone is enjoying this so far. I would've loved to put more time into this chapter but I cleaned all weekend and have maybe 2 hours to write. Despite this, I hope you enjoy. I started a community in the Star Fox section dedicated to putting stories in the spotlight and helping others reach their potential. Please visit. Well anyways, here the continuation of On the Rocks. Enjoy~

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Panther Caruso sat a few feet in front of an armchair, Dante circling him, tending to his wounds.

Panther's muzzle let out silent hisses of pain as the antiseptic was applied to his wound. His body gave out an involuntary spasm of pain as the last bandage was applied.

Finally the slightly winded voice of Dante breathed out the words Panther had been begging to hear for the past 30 minutes, "That's all."

"Did you have to take so long?" the feline wasn't able to bite back the venom from his tongue.

"Just want you to be in the best condition, no need to be so harsh." The raccoon was now sitting on the chair.

"Don't tempt me," hissed the panther in retort, the pain still there, but a dull throb, yet still there.

Dante flicked Panther's ear, causing it to twitch involuntary in response. A throaty growl emanated from the feline's being. The raccoon's only response was a light chuckle.

Panther lifted his head, a question entering his mind, speaking it as it came, "You know me, at least you claim to, you ask me to represent you… why?"

"Everybody that's anybody knows what happened with you and Star Wolf, I happened to know it when you came to my pub."

Panther's eyes widened, it was the span of 15 minutes that it took him to reach the pub, how could he possibly know?

Despite every question that surged through the feline's mind, only one managed to escape his lips, "How?"

"One day you'll know Panther, today's not that day," was the simple reply of Dante.

"Why can't you tell me?" replied the panther instantly.

"It's better you not know," came the still calm voice of Dante.

"Then how do I know if I can trust you?" retorted Panther.

"By not knowing why you can't," Dante's voice now with a little bite.

Panther had much more to say, much, much more to say, but he bit back every remark that came to him, every question he needed answered.

'If trust is key, and we don't trust each other, then what will happen when I fight? Will I die?'

"Come on, let's go train downstairs," spoke Dante, leading the way, walking towards a door against a wall on the far side of the room.

Panther used his hand to drag himself to his feet and began to follow. As he came to the door and entered, he was immersed in darkness.

His hands groped along the walls, feeling his way down the stairs as his feet cautiously made their way down.

When he reached the bottom, he felt his heart weighed down by disappointment as he realized there'd be no light.

"Our first training will be to heighten your fighting ability without sight. Considering how unpredictable these competitions have come to be known as, I wouldn't doubt a blackout map," came the smooth, earthen voice of Dante.

"Who will I be fighting Dante?" thought Panther aloud.

"Me," the grin was actually audible in his voice.

Panther's ears pricked as wind passed through his fur, the room most obviously closed completely meant that Dante was on the move.

His hearing caught movement at him, he ducked, feeling the fist meant for him just barely missing him, the wind coursing through his fur.

The feline unleashed an uppercut, barely missing the coarse fur of Dante.

Dante's fist nailed Panther dead center in the chest, sending him stumbling backwards.

He lost his balance and fell, he landed slanted, his balance barely supported by the railing of the staircase.

The ancient rotting wood gave an ominous creak before a loud resounding crack echoed throughout the room, Panther regaining his balance in shock.

The air shifted once more, Panther crossing his arms to block the hit, clamping his arms on the incoming fist. Panther twisted his arms, gripping the wrists of his attacker, flinging him at the wall to his left. Dante's air escaped him as a loud thump representing his connection with the wall echoed.

Panther breathed in through his maw, tasting the distinct flavors of the air. It all tasted moist except for a single bitter, earthy flavor… Dante.

This sense linked to his smell, and he was able to track every movement of the raccoon, without even thinking about it.

His predator instincts kicked in, he got low to the ground, shrinking his form as small as he could make it without impairing his versatility and power.

He closed his eyes, the darkness replaced with what his mind envisioned the basement to be.

Then Panther lunged at Dante, landing perfectly, pinning the raccoon. His feet held down Dante's knees, his hands pinned Dante's shoulders.

Panther humorously began to count down from 3, "3… 2… 1... Ding, ding, and the winner is Panther."

"Okay, we're done Panther. Lights on," he chimed, the grin now becoming visible as the lighting turned on.

The basement was barren, nothing down there except for against the walls. Weapons and flyers and posters were mounted on the walls.

The scariest thing was that there was a small section completely dedicated to Panther. All of his past feats, all of his triumphs, and every bad moment since the day he was born related to him.

Dead center in all of them was a picture, a single picture, of a young raccoon and a young panther standing side by side.

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Yes, yes the plot is thickening Matthew. Well this is all I have for now, oooooo and new record, an hour and a half with revise. This and a few more chapters then I will have a chapter introducing other competitors, and then the actual tourney will be chapters 11-20. This is what I'm planning at least; this is how I plotted it out in my mind. Then there will be the epilogue, don't hold me to my words if the tourney comes late, be happy then, as there will be more story to read. Well anyways, I just wanted to clear up something, and I wanted to vent a little. Remember… REVIEW! That is all.


	7. Focus

I noticed when I was looking at community I started, Revival of Star Fox, that one of the moderators had added this, and I don't know who. XD Well, anyways please look at the community and post on forums and such. I'll be awaiting your comments on the story, and Lupe, if you honestly want me to apologize, your sadly mistaken. You read the first sentence or two, and then replied, you didn't even read the whole way through. This doesn't even include the fact that you pushed some crazy pairing from left field onto me, saying it was something you'd rather read. If you don't enjoy this story, then fine, if you do, that's okay too, just don't review without reading everything.

Also, I'm extremely sorry this is coming out late, I started this later than usual because I was forced to clean all weekend, so now it's Tuesday, and I'm trying to vent before my soccer game tomorrow. I want so badly to be as big an asset as I can for my team, so this is the next chapter of On the Rocks, and I'm also venting.

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Panther stumbled, confusion sweeping over him as he saw a distinct figure on the panther in the picture, a white stripe below the right eye. Unknowingly, Panther had raised his fingers to the stripe on his face, fearful.

Dante was beside him now, head dipped, regret in his eyes, and his voice as he spoke, "You must be wondering why I have a picture of you and me as kids…" whispered Dante.

Panther's voice lashed back, rising in volume with each syllable, venom slowly draining, tears slowly forming, "Of course I'm wondering! You have a picture of me and you as kids; you have a whole section of your wall DEDICATED TO ME. What did I do to you to get this? WHO ARE YOU!?"

"I'd be dead if it weren't for what you did when we were kids…" calmly stated Dante.

"What's that!? What did I do to make you so… so… obsessed!?" questioned Panther.

"You've forgotten… you've honestly forgotten you pushing me out of the way of a moving car? You went to the hospital and got 12 stitches and you can't even remember why? That white stripe of yours, that's a scar, you got it saving me," Dante losing his cool, having trouble holding his temper down now.

Yet, all of those words, none of them could revive memories long gone. Becoming a mercenary required him to forget his past. Yet… yet… Dante seemed familiar.

And, without a moment's notice, words stumbled out of Panther's mouth, "I can't remember, but I feel like I've known you… known you before the bar."

"Why don't you remember?" although the phrase was obviously meant to be violent, it came out laced with curiosity.

"You of all people should know the answer to that Dante…"

"Being a mercenary is no excuse for repressing memories Panther. When life has nothing left to live for, people live for their past, what are you going to live for then!" Dante shouted, caring much for the childhood savior.

Yet, the savior could simply avert his gaze, gazing down, sadly. Panther, although he didn't want to admit it, he felt bad.

"Well, should we keep training Panther, maybe you'll remember eventually…" he spoke, before muttering, "I hope."

"Yeah, what's next?" questioned Panther

"Let's try shooting training. I'll be right back with targets, pick out a weapon to practice with off the wall," breathed out Dante.

With all of the different forms of guns on the walls, only one of them drew his eye, and held his gaze. A small revolver-like blaster, a thin barrel meaning the shots could easily screw up, but it also meant that it was a concentrated hit.

Dante stood up the stairs, and called down to Panther, "Come up here, there's simulation crap you can use from training. Bring all of the weapons you think you might use."

Panther grabbed a serrated blade and a sniper rifle too, before heading up. He came up to find Dante's furry tail sticking out a doorway, in which he went to.

In that room, there was two virtual reality seats, Dante proceeded to sit in one, Panther made his way to the other.

In the area, there was a small compartment, Panther placed his weapons in them, and clicked ready. The door shut, encasing him in darkness.

Then, he appeared on a shooting range. He lifted his hand, a small revolver suddenly appearing in it.

Dante was behind him, a spectator. "Focus on the target, imagine the bullet traveling and connecting to it, then make it happen."

Panther nodded in affirmation, but as shaking slightly, still angry, still anxious, and still a bit confused after the event minutes ago.

He took breaths, shallow and quick. He was completely out of his comfort zone with this; he preferred the air… very much so.

He wrapped both of his hands around the handle of the gun, made the image, and fired. The bright red beam missed the target by a lot. Panther released some of the pent up breath and stress he had.

"Try a different technique that one doesn't work," stated Dante, matter-of-factly.

Panther took a deep breath, and steadied himself. He held his wrist this time, narrowing his eyes to slits as he focused. He fired a bullet, it narrowly missing the center, and making the target explode into wooden splinters.

"Good, try a different weapon, we'll perfect your techniques after this, but right now, we need techniques for the weapons you brought," echoed the calm, smooth voice of Dante.

A knife replaced the revolver in Panther's hand. Dante spoke up, "The knife is a supposed to be for close combat, but for this, we'll practice throwing."

Panther knew how to do this. He clamped his thumb and middle finger on the face of the blade, near the tip, and whipped it. It sliced the target in half like butter.

"Nice job, here's the final weapon." Dante kept speaking words of wisdom and encouragement, he seemed completely at ease.

The sniper rifle appeared in Panther's hands, and he'd never used anything relatively close to one for a long time.

He dropped to a single knee, bringing his eye to the scope. The crosshair became the only thing he could focus on.

The criss-crossing black lines, they moved slowly, but surely. He began focusing the crosshair, and then it was perfectly centered on the target.

A slow, deep breath was all he needed. His finger gently tugged back, the trigger clicked against the handle of the gun, and then a red beam soared through the air.

The beam connected dead center with the target, a loud crack. The target exploded into a million pieces, the darkness surrounding Panther once more.

Dante smiled to himself in his darkness. "Perfect," he breathed out.

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God damn writer's block. Well, anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter of On the Rocks.


	8. Friend?

I always, always, ALWAYS… get a very detailed outline for my stories. In the end, I always come to the point where the outline is nothing, where my mind is speculating from speculations, and I get newer, better endings, details. I am at this point, finally, I think, confirmed for the last chapter of On the Rocks. That ought to be fun. Well anyways, here's chapter 7 (8 counting prologue) of On the Rocks. This means that theres 4 chapters to go, including this one, until I get to the tournament. Chapter 9 should be tying up loose ends and such, like a filler chapter, but then again, I'm a little bit lost. Enjoy!

* * *

Panther took a couple small breaths of air, feeling weak from the days of training one after the other, but he knew that it would help in the end. Dante sent another kick his way, them practicing for simple hand on hand combat.

His arm's deflected kick after kick, him finally catching Dante's leg in his arm, not giving the raccoon a chance to retaliate, he twisted his arm, swinging the surprised fighter over his head towards the ground.

Dante had something else in mind, catching Panther's back, using his momentum to do the move on the feline, smashing his head into the ground.

He blinked away the pain as he rolled away from Dante, everything hazy as he tried to refocus his vision. Dante was upon him quickly, Panther not quite ready made sloppy blocks. They could never last forever, he'd have to fix it fast. An accurate knee shot into Panther's chest, disorienting him as it sent air and spit from his mouth.

He stumbled backwards, falling to one knee as everything became even harder for him to keep up. Dante didn't show any mercy, sending a foot into the side of Panther's head, sending him sprawling.

Dante's foot pressed into Panther's back, forcing him to stay down. "You need to be better Panther, they won't stop for you," he said, twisting his foot, the claws digging into Panther's back.

"I know, I won't stop, won't give up," Panther said as a fist shot up, connecting with the lowered head of Dante, giving him leeway to get up.

On his feet, he felt ready now. He rushed to Dante, pouncing on the collapsed figure, holding down all of his limbs.

Panther snarled into the raccoon's ear, "How about now?"

"Great, except for one thing," said Dante, shifting, suddenly sending Panther into huge pain as something stabbed him in his right flank.

Glancing down, he noticed a small butterfly knife pressing into him, "You left yourself open with your final attack," Dante said simply, Panther lifting up with small winces and gasps of pain.

Dante stood up, brushing himself off, wrenching the knife from Panther's wound, "People can and will carry weapons during the simple rounds, next time it won't just be sharp, it'll be poisonous. Never. Let. Your. Guard. Down."

"Dante," Panther whispered as he passed the pain, "Why did you choose me?"

"Because I missed you Panther," replied the raccoon simply.

"Then why would you possibly be sending me to my death?"

There was no answer, and both of them knew it. The only thing Dante could say being, "Because you won't die."

"You don't know that," Panther said, if Dante was beating him like this, how was he supposed to win when the people were trying to kill him, protecting their own lives.

There was no words that could continue this conversation, they just stayed there silently. Each one willed the other to talk mentally, but couldn't bring themselves to talk.

The silence left them to think, and instantly Panther's mind went to Krystal. What did he think about her anymore?

He loved her... he hated her... he was sad... he was happy, what was he really, would he ever know?

Dante glanced back and forth between Panther and the feline's wall. The only thought he had was if this was the right idea or not.

Dante had built himself up, and he felt like he was about to tear himself down through this.

"Panther, do you remember me?" he asked curiously, wanting to know if the other male had finally come to realize his past.

The memories in Panther's head were coming back, slowly but surely, but he had no recollections of the raccoon, "No," he replied sadly.

Dante gained the sadness, looking down to the ground painfully. His hero, his friend, it had all just vanished with a single thought.

Panther's heart, albeit broken felt stronger with Dante, he just felt all around better. Was this the feeling of having friends, this quickly changing roller-coaster of happy and guilt.

"Will it ever be the same?" Dante asked, "Will we be friends again?"

Panther didn't respond, he didn't know, and he couldn't seem to bring himself to actually say that he didn't know.

The blood continued to run from Panther's leg, Dante noticing. "Maybe we should stitch that up, or would you not mind a scar?" he questioned.

"Scar's fine," Panther said. Dante nodded, quickly disappearing upstairs. Within moments, he returned with a small device that look like a camera flash mounted on top of a small rod.

He flashed the device over Panther's wound, the bright light stitching together the wound like magic, a white line of scar tissue left behind. He felt his paw trace the one below his eye... he didn't even know it was a scar before he met Dante.

"Krystal," he whispered, his fists clenched as he felt anger sear through him. Was it anger at her, or anger at being without her? He couldn't... decide.

Dante heard the name, but upon seeing the fists, he didn't want to ask. He simply said, "All done," patting Panther on the back. It was a gesture of comfort... even though it could be taken as a sign of being complete due to before. Dante used that small difference as a chance to comfort his... friend?

Could he say friend anymore... he had always seen the feline as a friend, but was he?

What is our relationship? The word relationship could be misconstrued, Dante knew it, but what the hell was between him and Panther. Were they mentor and student, friends, nothing... what?

"What?" whispered Dante, disbelief and fear in his voice, "What?" he continued.

* * *

Surprise update! This wasn't done at all, and it only took me about 20 minutes to write this. My writer's block is mostly gone, but I'm still on hiatus. I did this so I could vent and finish my homework while I'm still conscious. If my writing style changed, it's because I have been writing up to this point, and I've taken a good liking to questions.


	9. Suffering

Looks like a lot of people enjoy my new writing style. My posting schedule is gonna be a bit erratic and unreliable, so expect there to be a good chance on the weekends, but don't rely on them. I'm having a hard time keeping up with school, because I keep getting sick and fall behind, but can't write when I'm sick Well anyways, I have another opening. Here is the next chapter of On the Rocks, enjoy!

* * *

Panther was tossing and turning in the bed that Dante had provided him, his face painted with pain like none other.

"_Why does this keep repeating," he whispered to himself as he once again went through the roulette of memories. First it was him playing with sand, and he heard a voice, bright and happy, "Hey Panther," it called to him. He never saw the source of the voice though._

_Next came a memory of his 10__th__ birthday, he had never forgotten this… but for the first time he heard the doorbell ring, on the other side someone about his height was holding a large gift, blocking his face. The darkness set in before he saw their face, he did catch sight of the bright pink flesh, framed by light brown fur… an ear._

_Each time he saw a memory, he saw another second of the memory… it was different. This next memory was odd. He was running across the grass at full speed, he couldn't even go this fast anymore. He dived, flinging himself across the heated blacktop, and his eyes looked up to see… Dante as he shoved the younger version of his mentor out of the way. Then everything went black and red as he felt connection to his side._

_The last memory, it was him in the hospital. There were stitches on his face, and a body cast on him, several of his ribs broken. The pain was gone, he could see a heart monitor, IVs… he thought they were supplying him morphine maybe, which would explain why he felt so out of it, and why he didn't feel anything… just numb. He saw a table, it seeming to spin as his hand clutched out, missing a card a couple times. His hand came to grip the card, flinging it open, shaking. It was a 'Get well!' card, inside was a long message from Dante, mainly saying it was the young raccoon's fault. He could see tears stained the thick white paper._

He rose up, startled. A cold sweat was running down his face, and he found himself repeatedly muttering, "Dante… Dante… Dante," like it was a drug, and every time he said the name, some of the pain went away.

There was noise downstairs, and it had to have been Dante moving around downstairs. He threw his flight jacket over the white tank top, stumbling downstairs as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"Morning Panther," Dante called up to him as Panther got to the bottom of the stairs.

"Hey…" Panther wanted to tell Dante he remembered, but wasn't sure how to. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he saw Dante, his memories flashing back to every memory he still had of the raccoon, and for a moment, he saw the kid Dante.

Dante saw the distant look in Panther's eye, but didn't pry. He set the two plates of breakfast down on the table, having actually taken the time to make food, instead of ordering out this time. He sat down and started eating.

"Smells good," Panther said, sitting down in his seat, feeling more awake. He finally decided to just say, "I remember you Dante," not seeming like any other words would work, "And no, it wasn't your fault."

Dante dropped his fork on his plate, a loud clatter of metal on glass… Was it real… but he knew about his letter to Panther when the feline was in the hospital. A pain erupted from his heart, it finally all clicked, the conversation yesterday finally all clicked. He was sending Panther to a likely death; he was sending his best and only friend to his demise. He felt like HE was the one killing Panther. Why couldn't he have been smarter about this, why couldn't he have just tried to bring back a friendship with Panther? Who was he to end Panther's life… other than a bad friend?

"God fucking damn it," Dante muttered.

Dante forced himself to change the topic, all of his emotions being taken through hell. Those memories were supposed to make everything right, not screw everything up worse. "I can't train you in the sky Panther, so my best hope is that your time on Star Wolf has helped enough with that."

Panther nodded, absentmindedly eating his food, entirely focused on how much he just screwed up Dante. "Sorry," he whispered.

"No, it's not your fault, it's mine," Dante replied, shaking his head, only moments from beating his head into the table to try and force a headache to mask the pain.

This time, Panther knew he couldn't convince the raccoon otherwise, partially because he himself blamed Dante for this.

Silence hung ominously in the air, neither of them able to bring themselves to words. Dante felt horrible about all of this, Panther felt even worse.

This was one of their last days, both of them knew this, both of them didn't want to. The same question ran through both of their heads… What would happen after this? Then came the worst one… What happens if this ends in… death?  
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This is actually just a tiny bit shorter than my other chapters, just a lot of larger paragraphs than usual. Well anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter. This was about 30 minutes worth of work… thanks to me getting stumped a couple times and getting yelled at a couple times. Debating on how long I should make this. Wondering if I should stick with 20 chapters, or maybe more, probably gonna stick with 20 though, so I can get back to Forever.


	10. Escape

My writer's block is completely gone, so I'm going after every opening I get. I'm enjoying this story a lot, and I can only hope you enjoy it as much as I do. I'm relying largely on my writing style, filled with description and questions. Well here's the next chapter of On the Rocks, enjoy~!

* * *

Panther was left alone in the house as Dante went out to tend to the bar, having had someone covering for him for the past few days. The last thing he wanted was time alone, what with all of his thoughts attacking him at a constant rate.

'Why me…?' came the inner voice of Panther, childish and light… pure, it wasn't the same Panther, he had made so many god damn bad choices in his life… maybe this was his only chance at a peaceful escape… maybe this was his redemption.

He couldn't come up with any way out of it, at least not without losing Dante. Those memories… he didn't know how real they were… they just felt that way.

There was so many times he could've just given up, so many times he could've… no, should've died. Thinking of his past, the past after Dante… "I'm evil… I'm pure fucking evil," he said, his hands rising in front of his face, shaking as he came to a memory of his first kill, the warm flesh and blood on his hands, he could still hear the heart of the cougar beating feebly. He didn't mean it… but it changed him, and now he was about to go survive by killing others…

He had caused so many deaths; he had ruined so many lives… could he do this all over again. The small inner voice gave an answer, 'Yes…' the voice… was it his subconscious? Were these his true thoughts?

Panther's question was answered with the scene from yesterday, Dante's shock when he realized what was going to happen. He'd fight… if only to not ruin Dante's life.

Once this was over… if he survived… he'd fix his wrongs.

"I've spent my whole life destroying peace… it's about time that I uphold it," he whispered to himself, coaxing a small sigh to escape his lungs as the built up pressure had been released just like that.

Now that he had set his thoughts straight, he felt himself desperately yearning for alcohol to send his mind into a dull state, just wanting to feel numb.

His mind went to the fact that Dante owned a bar, and instantly he headed to the fridge. He opened it, immersing his fur into the chill of the fridge as he grasped the bottle, the brown glass cool and damp from the refrigeration.

Panther felt his fur mat to his palms, as he clutched the beer, realizing his hands were shaking a little, threatening to lose grip altogether.

Feverish, the need for the buzz and lack of feeling seemed to rush at him when he saw the beer, instantly popping it open and taking a long drink, the bitter chilled liquid heating his throat as he felt everything feel better all at once. The numb feeling that spread from his stomach to the rest of his body sent him into a serene state of mind, finally regaining a little control, breathing the words out, "I'm pathetic."

The buzz made him feel so much better, and he just wanted to jump for joy as he felt the joy he had only experienced in youth, in purity.

In those moments of buzz, he felt no anger, just joy. As he felt himself come to see an image of Krystal in his head, he wanted to hug and hold her again. He needed her so badly; she was the thing he couldn't get enough of. All of the hate and rage, it had been erased by the dull liquid. He actually felt the fleeting bits of love he had towards the vixen… and how he longed, prayed to brush her cheek with a paw, to see her once again… why couldn't he hold onto her? She was the best thing he ever had…

Krystal was… gone, that rose was the sign that she was done, done for good with him. The pain broke the dam formed by the buzz.

An idea struck him, him chugging the rest of the beer before shattering the bottle on the fridge, leaving a jagged half, while the rest was shards of glass on the floor. Pieces of glass scraped his skin, a single piece holding its ground in his skin as they all fell.

The bottle, he brought the sharp edge to his wrist, pressing down, his skin doing down slightly. A searing pain ripped through him as the dent lifted up, blood with it. The pain made him feel alive made him feel like he could see tomorrow without today… made him forget Krystal.

In one simple motion, he brought the bottle across his dark fur, slicing across his wrist. For a few moments, no sign that anything happened was present, then blood began to pool at the wound, the pain his narcotic, his grace.

He went to place the bottle against his wrist again, but felt himself stopped in mid-air.

It took a few moments, the feline realizing the pressure on his other wrist, glancing back to see Dante's hand. "What are you doing Panther!?" shrieked the fearful raccoon.

"Getting away from thissssssh hell," Panther said, the alcohol making his voice dull and monotonous, the purr gone.

Dante dug his claws into Panther's wrist, careful not to do any actual damage. The nerves in Panther's arm screamed for release, but the alcohol dulled the pain a lot, it taking its toll.

Dante was in luck as Panther got clumsy, losing his grip on the bottle, dropping it. Panther gasped, if it could be called that, as the bottle shattered in the ground.

"Why would you do that Panther?" Dante asked.

"I desssherve to d-die," Panther said, his voice slow in comparison to the usual.

"I'll never let you die," Dante replied, catching Panther as the feline fell. The raccoon felt so scared, the only thing he could will himself to do was hug Panther close as he slumped down, both of them dodging the shards of the bottle. "I can't lose you Panther," he said, a small sob escaping him. This was all they both had, and it was becoming more and more obvious.

Despite the alcohol, coherent words managed to escape Panther's hanging open lips, "I won't, ever."

Panther's inner voice, his subconscious, his purity, it said one word, which made Panther feel his heart skip a beat, panic returning, 'Liar.' Who was that directed towards?

* * *

Well anyways, next chapter is the start of the tournament. Hope you enjoyed this. This might get changed to rated M once the tournament starts, so please put this on your alerts so you don't lose it if that's the case. I don't think the gore and cursing is exactly the healthiest thing for a teen. I would know. :P


	11. Accepting Fate

Today was the day, today was actually the day. Panther glanced at the pictures on the wall, the thing he'd only saw as a shrine and rightfully so. This wall was a testament to his past, no matter how alarming it was that it was there. This wall was everything he'd lived up to now.

Before he was a mercenary... he was good. It was hard to acknowledge that he was doing bad for so long before this encounter with Dante... but, he'd killed people. He'd killed so many innocent people. Maybe if he died from this, it'd be karma finally evening out.

"Are you ready to go?" Dante called from the top of the stairs. The best part of all of this had to be that Dante cared so much for him, but was sending him to his death.

He reached out, grabbing a picture from the wall of him and Dante. It was a picture, clear as day, of him and the raccoon in the hospital after Panther had thrown himself in front of a car to save Dante. He stashed it in his pocket, "Yeah, I'll be up in a few seconds."

"I've put all the things you need into the storage compartment on your Wolfen. We'll be leaving in about 10 minutes," he called back, his footsteps echoing as he slipped back away.

How many things was he saying goodbye to really? He lost Krystal... he lost Star Wolf... alls that was really left was the fidgety raccoon that was upstairs, freaking out about as much as Panther wished he could.

He felt his hand go straight to his pocket, the feel of the photo paper through the faux-fabric comforting. With a small sigh, he took one last look at the wall before turning and going up the stairs. This was it.

Every stair echoed painfully, the walk seeming to be forever. There was no turning back now... the chance had been gone for a while now. When he killed Leon, it was all over.

As he got to the top of the stairs, he heard the front door shut as Dante had made his way outside again. He was still outfitted in his combat boots and flight jacket, bearing the emblem of Star Wolf despite how long it seemed to have been since his last time in the skies with them.

True as could be, Dante was sitting on the Wolfen immediately outside. Panther gave a small wave to him, "How do we get there in the first place?" he asked, realizing he had really no idea where they were going despite having to leave in just a few moments.

"Oh, don't worry about that. I'm flying," he said, the feline freezing mid step. It was strange ship, even he had to work for some time to be able to get used to it... then again, he must've gotten it down from the roof.

"Are you sure you can fly it?" the feline asked, taking the last few steps to close the gap between him and the ship. Dante brought his heel back into the Wolfen, sliding off as the glass hatch opened. It was a safety feature from Leon. If something hit through the shields, the hatch would open so whomever was piloting the ship could get out.

Panther just nodded, getting into the ship and sitting in the slightly cramped seat in back. The raccoon hopped in a few seconds later, pulling the hatch down and starting the ship with ease. "Just tell me when you're ready to go," he said, glancing back to the other male.

"I'm ready whenever you are," Panther said, trying to be as confident as possible despite his fear about practically everything that would happen. No matter how he looked at it, the chance of death was incredible. These were people that were trained to fight on the ground, always had and always will. Panther was always used to the sky, being high above everyone and everything. This concept of being on the ground was new to him.

After about five minutes of flight, which eliminated basically anything that was popular or still inhabited, Panther spoke up, "How far away is this place anyways," he said, glancing back to the dot that was Corneria.

Dante glanced back, smiling at him, "You'll see soon enough."


End file.
